The Margrave's Proposal
Having finished the business she needed to convey to Kaisent, Akina approached Lillian.
Unlike the frail young ladies, the nobles gathered here were survivors of the civil war. That was why they did not scatter like a swarm of ants beneath the light pressure she released.
"I have important matters to discuss with this one. I would appreciate it if everyone could step aside."
Yet the moment she truly unfurled her presence behind a gentle smile, several nobles who could no longer endure it hastily withdrew.
Even so, a few still resisted her aura. Prana was a means by which one's rank could rise without bone-grinding training, so it was no exaggeration to say that every noble of this world had cultivated it. The wealthier among them had already reached Expert and could push back against Akina's pressure.
"I'm sorry, but our business is not yet finished."
"The party has not even begun. We have plenty of time, do we not?"
It was a legitimate protest: unless the matter was urgent, they had arrived first and expected the order to be respected. Akina dismissed such objections lightly.
Goooooo—
"Kh!"
"Ugh!"
The nobles who had drawn courage from the beauty of Lillian and Priscilla began to break out in cold sweat the instant Akina, who had reached the realm of Origin, fully unleashed her presence.
"Just a moment."
At that point Lillian, fearing that open hostility with Akina would hinder their revenge, stepped between them and met the pressure with her own Master-level power.
"Is there any need for us to scowl at one another on such a fine day? It seems Countess Akina has something truly important she must tell me. I would be grateful if you would all show generous forbearance and yield."
"…If the matter is that urgent, we have little choice."
"Ahem. We shall yield this once."
By carefully preserving the nobles' pride and offering them a graceful exit, Lillian allowed those who had been struggling under Akina's aura to withdraw while claiming the concession as their own.
"Tsk. Central nobles and their empty bluster. Let us move somewhere private for a moment."
Akina urged Lillian and Priscilla toward a corner. Unable to fathom why the margrave insisted on such secrecy, Lillian followed, then raised a sound-blocking barrier that sealed every word from the outside before she spoke.
"What business do you have with me, Countess Akina?"
"Here we may speak freely, Princess Lillian Valen Prosteny."
"!!"
Lillian's face went rigid with shock at the precise revelation of her identity—so rigid that, had they not been tucked away in the corner, every noble present would have noticed.
"How did you know that!"
Priscilla cried out softly and moved on instinct to shield Lillian.
"Some time ago, while dealing with a greenskin army led by half-orcs, I had the opportunity to confirm your identity when you still went by Wolf. I was surprised then that a man was posing as a woman, yet the more I thought on it, the more unnatural it seemed that the captain and vice-captain of such a small mercenary band were both Experts."
Once suspicion took root, every action acquired meaning. Quiet investigation of the background eventually led her to the truth: Wolf was Princess Lillian.
"…Do you intend to blackmail me?"
"Blackmail? Hmph. You have been away from noble society far too long."
"What do you mean…"
"I am asking whether I appear to be the sort of trash who would stoop to such petty schemes."
When Akina—who could rightly be called a one-woman army—focused her presence upon Lillian, the princess broke out in cold sweat yet met the margrave's eyes without flinching.
"I apologize for the rudeness."
"Hmph. Fortunately you have not lost the pride of a princess."
A faint smile touched Akina's lips at the sight of a woman who faced her aura head-on without a trace of baseness. She considered something for a moment, then spoke again.
"Yet your face seems different from the one I remember. Magic should not function here."
Royal parties were ringed with anti-magic circles that nullified every spell and dispelled existing magical effects, prepared against any emergency.
"If my true face became known, matters would grow troublesome. I had to think carefully."
"I have heard that those called Murim people alter their faces with something known as disguise arts."
"Something of that sort."
Unable to reveal that Kaisent had employed holy power, Lillian glossed over the matter of her face.
"Still, it does not seem you came to this party merely to confirm that I am a princess. What is your true business?"
"I know my own position well. I am the margrave who holds back the Saryeong Kingdom, yet among the nobles I am called a rude, strong-willed, power-obsessed stubborn fool with whom no conversation is possible."
"……?"
"Therefore I planted my own people to grasp the atmosphere at court. From them I learned that the royal family has begun to move in peculiar ways."
Akina used mana as though it were a hand, drawing a distant wineglass to her and moistening her throat.
"Such as an attack upon the Saryeong Kingdom."
"!!"
"I also confirmed that a member of the royal family made contact with you. From this point it is only my conjecture, yet I expect the court intends to reclaim a measure of territory from Saryeong and appoint you to govern it."
With every word Lillian found it harder to conceal her astonishment, for the margrave's assessment was exact.
I knew she was more than a mere warrior of strength, yet to this degree…
Akina was fully aware that she found it difficult to grow close to other nobles and that the royal family still resented her neutrality during the civil war. That was why she maintained an independent information network, catching the court's mood early so she might prepare for every contingency—an idea no warrior who pursued only raw power would ever conceive.
"Your reaction alone is sufficient, yet I wish to hear it from your own lips. Is it correct?"
"…It is accurate."
"Haa. Undead still remain within the kingdom, yet they mean to attack Saryeong. When I saw him before, he did not strike me as quite so foolish."
Openly insulting the second prince who had become king of Halrot, Akina frowned as though the entire plan defied comprehension.
"I raised that very point, and it seemed he possessed thoughts of his own."
"Whatever they may be, it appears he has found a means to break the present deadlock."
Her planted agent could gather nothing further; simply monitoring the court's atmosphere had been the limit of the mission. Now that she knew the plan, Akina slowly turned the glass in her fingers and fell into thought.
"Yet this one matter I cannot understand. Why did you accept the royal proposal? Was it to revive the Luciarkenel royal house once more?"
To reclaim Luciarkenel by borrowing Halrot's strength… the limits of such a path were plain. In Akina's eyes the court was using territory as bait, intending to bind Lillian and Priscilla into lifelong war against Saryeong. Continue down that road and they would gain neither real profit nor honor, only the hollow title of land, becoming little more than meat shields who would be the first to meet every invasion from the vampire kingdom.
Still, the court would offer a measure of support. Did they mean to take that support and use it to avenge themselves upon the Saryeong Kingdom that had destroyed their homeland?
"Because I felt hope."
"Hope?"
"Hope that if luck and timing align, I may reclaim my homeland."
"…That requires two absolute conditions."
"Yes. The people of Luciarkenel who remain within Saryeong must still be alive. And they must still long for the royal house."
"Knowing that, you stake every chip upon uncertain fortune?"
"If it fails, I will cast aside nobility and everything else, flee to the Eastern Continent, and begin again. After all, no one knows my true face. Hohoho."
Akina felt a strange sensation at the sight of Lillian so free, when she had expected the princess to cling desperately to the reconstruction of her royal house.
"I do not know what you are thinking, yet I shall now state the business that brought me here in person."
"To me?"
Lillian waited with open curiosity for the matter important enough to draw Countess Akina—who never attended parties—all the way to this hall.
"Jin Resili Kaisent."
"!?"
"Give that child to me."
"What do you mean…"
"Accept this proposal and I will give full support to the princess's territory. I cannot change nationality for the sake of noble contracts, yet if the princess wishes it, I will also aid the reconstruction of the royal house by indirect means."
Before Lillian could form a reply, Akina laid down the strongest card she possessed. Lillian and Priscilla wore expressions of blank shock, then swiftly recovered their composure.
"I refuse."
"Do the conditions not please you?"
"It is not a matter of liking. Even if Countess Akina entered my service as a vassal, I would still refuse."
The three women faced one another and locked auras in fierce contest. Akina released a quiet sigh and began to explain why Kaisent must come under her.
"That child is a genius. Yet he is a genius whose foundations are incomplete. Do you know how hollowly geniuses without proper education collapse and fade?"
"That is…"
"Five years. If he receives education under me for only five years, that child will be able to reveal his genius to the entire continent. And I can shield him from the jealousy of the filthy souls who will envy that genius."
"……"
"Even through the real battles he would face under you, he could still climb into the ranks of the strong. Yet a genius whose foundations have been built systematically and a genius who has cobbled together a messy base without foundations will reach entirely different ends."
Akina's purpose was to bring Kaisent beneath her wing. The boy she had seen and experienced possessed talent that reduced every previous "genius" to a mere prodigy. As one who had discovered treasure, she could not endure watching such ability wasted.
"Once I have blossomed Kaisent's talent in that manner, I have already planned to marry him to one of my daughters. It would be a son-in-law entry, yet for a dimensional drifter with no connections, such an arrangement would rather be a blessing."
"!!"
"For Kaisent's future as well, give that child to me."
The words were correct. If events unfolded as Countess Akina planned, Kaisent would display outstanding genius while becoming a member of a noble house and walking a solid path.
For Kaisent's happiness, sending him to Countess Akina—who grasps his true value more accurately than anyone and will treat him as precious—is one possible method.
Yet—
"Even so, I cannot give Kaisent."
No matter what happened, Lillian could not send him away. How could she sell off the husband she loved so deeply that merely imagining separation made her chest ache?
"I am disappointed, Princess. Do you intend to sacrifice that child's talent for your own selfishness?"
"I have no intention of sacrificing him. Whatever it takes, I will help that child grow properly."
"As a mere mercenary captain? If the kingdom's plan succeeds, that child will be forced to fight Saryeong for the rest of his life under you."
"If he remains with me, many hardships will come to him as well. Yet even in difficult circumstances I will nurture that child's talent—even if it costs my life."
It was Akina who was startled by the sight of Lillian truly prepared to throw away even her own life.
What? Why is she willing to stake her life for Kaisent?
This was no longer the regard one held for a subordinate; it was something far beyond cherishing him as one would one's own life. Moreover Priscilla, standing beside her, wore an expression of complete agreement, which only deepened Akina's bewilderment. Naturally, knowing nothing of the fact that they had become Kaisent's wives and loved him, the margrave could not comprehend their abnormal behavior.
"If that is the whole of your business, let us end the conversation here."
Lillian glanced past Akina's shoulder. There, leading lightly armored guards, the king had arrived at the party hall.
"His Majesty Penion Dval Galaig, rightful sovereign of the great Halrot Kingdom and its thirteenth king, now enters."
With the servant's final announcement of the king's arrival, every noble bent at the waist in formal respect.
"Everyone, set aside the stiff formalities. Have we not overcome countless national crises thanks to the noble blood gathered here?"
Only after the king spoke did they straighten. He had aged so markedly that it was hard to believe he had been a prince until recently. Even viewed generously, he appeared to be in his late thirties. One tended to imagine princes as youths in their teens or twenties, yet in truth—unless special circumstances intervened—a prince commonly received the throne between thirty and forty. Indeed the second prince who had won the civil war already had three children, the youngest of whom had reached the mid-teens. As proof, the princes who appeared with the king were all grown men save for the youngest.
"I would prefer to begin the party at once, yet there is a matter that must be addressed first."
Nobles late to the news assumed the topic concerned the mercenary named Noriyoshi who had drawn the legendary sword of the founding king. Those like Akina who obtained information swiftly already knew that the name Noriyoshi was forbidden at this gathering—because Noriyoshi had vanished together with the founding king's sword. Trackers still hunted him, yet Kaisent had buried the body in a suitable place and used the sword itself to expand his dimensional warehouse; no matter how seasoned or experienced the trackers, following any trail was impossible. Moreover, the Galaig who had possessed Noriyoshi's body had slain every watcher before moving, so as long as the trackers continued to gather information centered on the sword's power and prestige, they would never catch even Kaisent's shadow for all eternity.
"Wolf of the Wolf Mercenary Group—no, Lillian—come before me."
Of course the name Lillian was not monopolized by the princess of Luciarkenel, so she revealed her true name without hesitation.
Oh—
As Lillian displayed her graceful figure and approached the king with elegant steps, gasps of admiration escaped the nobles. Even with an altered face, the underlying beauty was so superior and the dignity of a princess so evident that they could not help themselves.
Lillian looked up at Penion, who sat upon a throne several steps higher, and knelt upon one knee.
I am sorry, Father. Forgive me for kneeling before another king. Yet all of this is for the sake of reviving our kingdom.
Having offered silent apology to her father, she waited for the king to speak.
"You are a hero who displayed the power of a Master and prevented the followers of Outer Gods from defiling this land."
"I am humbled."
"Now that the filthy vampires of the Saryeong Kingdom have schemed upon our soil and revealed their dirty ambitions, I have need of a young hero such as yourself. Therefore I ask you officially."
The matter had already been agreed upon in advance, yet the king spoke as though the conversation were occurring for the first time.
"Within half a year I shall calm the undead crisis within our borders. Thereafter I shall punish the Saryeong Kingdom that dared to work its filthy schemes against us."
At those words the nobles' reactions split cleanly in two: those who had expected this moment, and those who could not comprehend what they were hearing.
"Lillian, I ask you. Half a year hence, will you lend your strength to the righteous war that punishes the Saryeong Kingdom?"
"Yes. For the sake of humanity at large, and further for the Halrot Kingdom, I shall use my power."
"Good. If you achieve great merit in the war half a year from now and reclaim territory for humanity, I shall formally appoint you a noble and entrust that land to you."
Even the nobles who had not anticipated the situation understood once they heard the king's words: he intended to wring every last drop of use from the Wolf Mercenary Group that possessed two Masters. Even if the war succeeded in seizing territory, reclaiming the whole of old Luciarkenel was impossible. In other words, even after becoming a noble, one would spend the rest of one's days fighting the Saryeong Kingdom.
The nobles who had survived the civil war—that ultimate crucible of conspiracy and faction—were not so foolish as to burst out with complaints about elevating a lowly mercenary to the peerage.
"I shall summon you in half a year. Until then, grow your strength."
"Yes. For the Halrot Kingdom I shall prepare the mercenary group to its finest condition."
Both king and Lillian knew perfectly well that what each desired was Master-level power, yet they performed the play together.
"The Medelgard Church, enraged by the filthy deeds of Saryeong, is even now forming the Purification Knights! Our kingdom shall occupy the regions of the Luciarkenel royal house and prosper!"
At the king's command the musicians, who had arrived early and completed their final tuning, began to play soft, elegant music.
The Medelgard Church is forming Purification Knights?
If the Medelgard Church, specialized against the undead, lends its aid…!
There is Black Soil in Luciarkenel! If we can seize that soil…!
By deliberately announcing that the Medelgard Church was assembling the Purification Knights, the king swelled the nobles with greed for the territories that contained the Black Soil unique to Luciarkenel. They clustered together and began to discuss plans. Naturally the king, who had desired precisely this outcome, smiled with satisfaction, already anticipating that the nobles would voluntarily offer troops and war funds.
Yet not a single soul present noticed the bat that flew above the party garden.